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Lifeguard on Duty
The guardians of Oahu’s beaches
increasingly train as ready-for-anything
emergency medical technicians
It's the Fourth of July, and, as on any holiday, thousands of residents and visitors will hit Hawaii's beaches.
Watching over the throngs on Oahu's 19 guarded beaches will be more than 70 of Honolulu's ocean safety officers.
It is a chore that Honolulu's 200 lifeguards performed 1,437 times last year.
They hauled in proud surfers who wiped out, frightened children who could not swim and older swimmers who misjudged current strength.
Because of their work, there were only two drownings on Oahu's lifeguarded beaches last year, compared with 29 ocean drownings in unguarded Oahu locations.
"We'd like people to swim at beaches where there are lifeguards," said Ralph Goto, the city's Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services administrator. "Statistically, your chances are better at a guarded beach than a nonguarded one."
But, important as it is, a lifeguard's job is not just about the big rescue, said Jim Howe Jr., Honolulu's chief of lifeguards.
Dozens of times a day, lifeguards warn beachgoers of the dangers of the ocean -- and give them tips on using it safely.
And they have to be ready to tend to medical emergencies that range from cuts and scrapes to heart attacks.
Even trauma injuries from auto accidents are common. So many of Oahu's beaches are on major highways, lifeguards are often the closest people with first-aid skills, Howe said.
Honolulu lifeguards have been increasing their training on the medical side of lifeguarding during the past few years, with 51 of the 145 full-time lifeguards now certified as emergency medical technicians.
It is a trend nationally in the country's larger lifeguard operations, Goto and Howe said.
At beaches where there are huge crowds, like Ala Moana, Waikiki and Hanauma Bay, there are always people with underlying medical conditions that could turn into emergencies.
On May 10, EMT-certified lifeguards Anthony Ho and James Sloane responded to a 75-year-old man who collapsed while putting his surfboard away at Kuhio Beach.
Goto credits their CPR and use of an automatic external defibrillator with saving the man's life.
With EMT-trained lifeguards, "it's a smoother transition" to ambulance personnel, said Emergency Medical Services Chief Patty Dukes. "They're speaking the same (medical) language now. And they know why they're doing what they're doing, where before they did things, like put oxygen on a patient, because that's what they were told to do."
"Our No. 1 job is preventing serious injury and death," said lifeguard James Loganbill. "So the EMT stuff comes in when, sooner or later, something (medical) is going to happen."
"Any time you have a drowning on the beach, it's traumatic," said Kawika Eckhart, a lifeguard since 1984. "You go home and you're trying to sleep that night, and it's going through your head -- how could I have prevented that?"
Yet, prevention remains their main job, something that was quite evident on Friday.
The Glaser family of New York was heading expectantly toward the water at Sandy Beach when lifeguard Kamalu Souza gave them his standard talk for people who do not look like they are up to conditions.
He told them how Sandy Beach has waves that break on the shore, how it has a high rate of back and neck injuries and how there is a family-friendly beach "just five minutes down the road" in Waimanalo.
"They don't know because they don't live here," Souza said after the family headed back to their car with their boogie boards. "Most of the time, people are very grateful that we've told them."
That same day, an 18-year-old woman from the mainland who tried boogie-boarding for the first time at Sandy Beach was taken away on a stretcher -- even though the waves were less than 2 feet.
She hit the beach headfirst, and the wave flipped her body over in the uncomfortable position lifeguards call a "scorpion."
"It's unfortunate. That poor girl, she's going to be hurting," said lifeguard Kalai Ahuna.
"On small (surf) days it doesn't look that challenging," Souza said, and that is when many accidents happen, because people let their guard down.
Hawaii Ocean Drownings
Four out of five drownings in Hawaii occur in the ocean. The vast majority of them happen when a lifeguard is not present.
By residential status 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 total Nonresident 15 22 27 31 21 35 151 Resident 28 27 26 21 21 23 146 Total 43 49 53 52 42 58 297 By county 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 total Honolulu 23 26 29 32 22 31 163 Hawaii 8 9 12 8 7 9 53 Kauai 12 12 7 7 6 10 54 Maui 0 2 5 5 7 8 27 Total 43 49 53 52 42 58 297 SOURCE: INJURY PREVENTION AND CONTROL PROGRAM, HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Playing It Safe
» Learn to swim and never swim alone. Adults should stay within arm's reach of a child in case of an emergency.
» Swim in lifeguarded areas.
» Don't dive into unknown water or shallow breaking waves.
» Ask a lifeguard about beach and surf conditions before swimming -- and follow their instructions.
» If you can't swim out of a strong current, signal for help.
» Rely on your swimming ability, not a flotation device.
» Look for, read and obey all beach safety signs and symbols.
» Be alert for "dangerous toos," such as being too tired, too cold, too far from safety, too much sun, too little hydration and too much strenuous
activity.
» Don't mix alcohol and swimming.
» Wear waterproof sunscreen (SPF 15 or higher) and drink plenty of water.
» Pay attention to local weather forecasts and stop swimming at the first sign of bad weather.
» If in doubt, just stay out.SOURCE: HONOLULU OCEAN SAFETY AND LIFEGUARD SERVICES AND THE AMERICAN RED CROSS
By the Numbers
In 2004, Honolulu lifeguards watched over 17.8 million beachgoers.* Here are some of the key statistics from when lifeguards were on duty:
Preventive actions 369,192 Minor first aid 83,535 Major first aid 1,160 Rescues 1,437 Drownings 2 * Estimated at guarded beaches during work hours from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily
On the Net
The Honolulu Lifeguards' Web site includes the locations of Oahu's life-guarded beaches, information about conditions and safety tips:
E-mail to City Desk
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